Self Fed Ration Help

[S&S Cattle]

Hi I am new to the site my name is Jon and iv just started raising Holstein bottle calves they are 550 lbs at the moment I have 25 of them. I was looking for help to formulate a self fed ration.


Products avail. in my area.

Corn

Soybean Meal

Dried Distillers Grain

Wheat Middling (Pelleted)

I am sure I'm missing some stuff but that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

Oh also I'm located in Southern Minnesota

Thanks in Advance

 

[Lane]

I typically feed calves from 325# to 800# and use a self-fed ration using the
fiber to control consumption.

current ration (per ton): 200# Cottonseed Meal
350# Dried Distillers Grain
400# Cottonseed Hulls
1050# Grain Screening Pellets

Analysis (as fed basis): Protein = 13.48%
Fat = 3.09%
Crude Fiber = 16.95%
TDN = 67.00%

I use wheeled feeders that will hold about 3.5 tons of this feed and cattle are
typically held in approx. 5 acre traps and rotated as needed. Calves typically
gain about 2#/head/day (start to finish) and convert at about 7:1.

 

[TexasBred]

Lane only problem with that ration is that nobody has those pellets except the folks that buy from PMG. Corn would run your price up but would also make a much better ration.

 

[S&S Cattle]

Lane I can not get any cotton products can anyone help me with the products i have available.

 

[TexasBred]

Lane I can not get any cotton products can anyone help me with the products i have available.

Do you have soyhulls available, either loose or pelleted?

 

[Lane]

Actually grain screening pellets are sold all over the place. In the northwest
they make a pellet from wheat screenings, in the midwest there are at least
2 big guys making them. The pellets that I use are about 90% of the energy
value of corn and about 1/3 the price. When corn was "cheap" I used it and I
really don't think my gain was much better.

If you have a way to grind hay it will work as well or better than the cottonseed
hulls. Any good protein source can be used in place of cottonseed meal. We used
to grind and cook soybeans and it was a great product, but I can't buy beans and
make it work anymore. You just have to get a little creative.

 

[TexasBred]

Actually those are aspirated grain fracations that have been pelletized. Very high in fumonsin and sometimes aflatoxin. Kill a horse if you can get it to eat them but do tend to work ok in some feed rations. Purina has made millions off them over the years.

 

[Lane]

You are right about the product but wrong about the toxins. The raw product
comes from export elevators that are not supposed to recieve grain that tests
above 20ppb afla. We test for fumonison, aflatoxin, don and several other things.
I would not suggest feeding a lot of other feed ingredients to horses or any other
simple stomached animal.

The poster simply asked for suggestions and I responded about what I feed. It
has worked for me for about 20 years.

 

[TexasBred]

You are right about the product but wrong about the toxins. The raw product
comes from export elevators that are not supposed to recieve grain that tests
above 20ppb afla. We test for fumonison, aflatoxin, don and several other things.
I would not suggest feeding a lot of other feed ingredients to horses or any other
simple stomached animal.

The poster simply asked for suggestions and I responded about what I feed. It
has worked for me for about 20 years.

If you get them from PMG the tag has a waning about fumonsin and stated that it does contain between 5 and 30 ppm. I've tested them for both and they do contain aflatoxin also. What's being exported (corn, milo, wheat) probably does not contain any but what we have here is the minute particles of residue that does contain the toxins. Basically it's elevator dust.

 

[KNERSIE]

Actually grain screening pellets are sold all over the place. In the northwest
they make a pellet from wheat screenings, in the midwest there are at least
2 big guys making them. The pellets that I use are about 90% of the energy
value of corn and about 1/3 the price. When corn was "cheap" I used it and I
really don't think my gain was much better.

If you have a way to grind hay it will work as well or better than the cottonseed
hulls. Any good protein source can be used in place of cottonseed meal. We used
to grind and cook soybeans and it was a great product, but I can't buy beans and
make it work anymore. You just have to get a little creative.

That really depends on how much corn you used and what the TDN was. I like your ration, but for slaughter stock I'd ideally like to see a TDN of round 72%.

Alfalfa is as good a source of protein as any (with the addes bonus of fibre), depending on location it can either make the ration cheaper or much more expensive

 

[Lane]

Knersie, I agree with you that I might like the TDN to be above 70%, but both
the original poster and I were talking about a growing ration. I also agree that
alfalfa would be very good in his area.

I think it might be said that the discussion was about a self-fed ration. I only know
of a few ways to control consumption- hand-feed, palatability, salt, or fiber. I
use fiber, and doing this I know I have to make adjustments. You have to walk a
pretty fine line as the calves need to grow, build frame, and not get too fat. The
other consideration is always cost of gain and this forces me into using a lot of
by-products that are not always perfect but they do work.

 

[TexasBred]

Don't know that the CSH will control consumption but it will give you the benefit of making them eat numerous small meals as opposed to slug feeding once or twice a day....CSH are not much on paper but work wonders in the rumen of cattle.